Effective Approaches in Teaching a Foreighn Language by Marizzel Garcia

I remember my first day in Italian 101 like it was yesterday. The main reason I recall this day so vividly is due to the feeling of confusion in the class. It was the first day and the professor spoke to use in pure Italian, for the first half of class. I remember looking around and wondering if I was in the right class and if this professor was aware that this was a 101 level course. As time progressed in the class I got better at the language and started to pick it up. How do professors manage for students to learn a foreign language and get rid of this sense of confusion and perplexity? There are many techniques used by professors when learning a foreign language. For this essay I will be focusing on the following techniques interaction, connecting what is learned in the classroom to student’s personal life or preferences, and humor.

Through recent research I have found that one teaching technique used by foreign language professors is interaction. I have recently observed three foreign language classes at UC. These classes consist of a Spanish 101, French 102, and Italian 103 class. Each one of these classes incorporated interaction weather it was the teacher asking the students questions, the students asking the professor questions, or the students having conversations amongst each other in the language. According to Pawel Scheffeler (2008), an English syntax professor interested in research in language accusation, interaction is important when learning a foreign language because “communicative interaction can drive language acquisition forward” (p. 291). Here we notice that interaction has been found to be linked to acquisition. Another reason why interaction is important is because “in-class interactions help the learners maintain their attention and interest” (S. Deniz, 2010, p. 1281), which is also important when learning a language.

Students also find interaction used in the classroom useful when learning a language. Olivia Anastasi, one of the students from the Italian 103 class I observed, stated that “I think interaction is vital with any language being learned. Reading and doing the exercises in the book only do so much. In order to really grasp the language you must interact with others who speak it” (O. Anastasi, personal communication, May 26, 2011). This shows that interaction is also important to not just happen amongst the instructor but also amongst the students. For this interaction to be effective a second language class “should be organized in such a way that learners are given opportunities to interact freely with the teacher and other learners (Scheffler, 2008, p. 290). This demonstrates that this interacting amongst students plays an important role in learning a language.

A second technique used by foreign language professors is connecting what is learned in classroom to students’ personal life or preferences. Professors do this by giving writing assignment to students in which the write in the language about themselves or state their opinion. Another way they do this is by asking students questions during class in which they are then forced to practice their speaking skills and have to state their opinion on a topic or their feelings. I observed some examples of this in the Italian 103 the professor asked the students in Italian what kind traveler they were when discussing traveling. Another example was in Spanish 101 the professor asked a student in Spanish, how are you when you are with your husband, or cat to get a student to use the new vocabulary learned.

Connecting what is learned in the classroom to the students individually has been found to have a positive effect on learning a foreign language. In a study done by Deniz in which students evaluate foreign language teaching, it was found that “students thought that the strategies that encouraged student to share personal experiences and thoughts and ask students to work towards the same goal were important but that their instructors didn’t use them enough in class” (2010, p. 1278). This shows that students believe that making these connections help when learning a foreign language. For the teacher to make these connections of in class learning to the students personally, it’s important that the professor has a positive relationship with the students. According to Deniz, “the teacher should be sensitive towards his/her students’ needs, develop positive relationships with them, and listen to them to show that he/she cares about them” (2010, p. 1279). When a teacher shows that they care about the students this motivates the students to learn the language. This motivation is vital to effective foreign language teaching. Deniz’s research shows “Motivation is one of the most important factors required for effective foreign language teaching” (2010, p. 1269). This motivation is important because “factors such as interest and paying attention, making an effort, willingness to spend the required time, not giving up when challenges appear, strong willpower to reach the goal, being determined, and using strategies to achieve the goal are important factors of motivation” (Deniz, 2010, p.1270).

A final teaching technique that professors use is humor. Humor was used by all professors I observed except for one. To make learning a foreign language as effective as possible “a teacher must desire to make learning fun by exhibiting teaching behaviors that demonstrates that he/she is enthusiastic and eager to teach”(Deniz, 2010, p. 1278). An easy way for teacher to do this is by using humor.

Through my research I have found that the use of humor has a positive effect on students. Nick states that “using her comedic approach wakes us up and keeps us in toned with what she is saying” (personal communication, May 26, 2011) when referring to his Spanish professor. In Deniz’s research students also found it important that their teachers “create a supportive classroom climate that promotes risk-taking, bring in and encourage humor, avoid social comparison, and use short and interesting activities to start the class, to create a pleasant classroom climate” ( 2010, p. 1279). These students also stated that these principles weren’t used enough in the class. So this leads me to believe that students enjoy classes in which professor incorporate a lot of humor.

In the classes I observed each professor would use humor in subtle ways. In the Spanish 101 class the professor would tell a student “I’m sorry that’s Russian, what language are you speaking”, the class would then chuckle and the professor would then correct the student’s pronunciation. Another example was the professor would tell female students that used masculine verbs, “I’m sorry I didn’t know you were a man did you change your sex” to get her point across. Every time the professor said something comical students would laugh and it drew their attention to the lesson.

When humor isn’t used in the classroom it can also have negative effects on the classroom. Lack of humor can lead to “a classroom climate which is serious which can cause stress for students” (Deniz, 2010, p. 1280). This stress can then affect the interactions or communication of the class. The French 102 class that I observed barely used humor. Out of all three classes I observed this one also seemed the least effective. Throughout the class time students demonstrated a lack of interest. Prof of this was the fact that more than 5 students arrived late to class. Another example was some students in the class had their phones out in class and were texting. The last example was that when doing partner activities many students were lost and didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing. If this professor incorporated humor in her class as a way to draw the students’ attention maybe the students would be more receptive and attentive to the language and class.

Overall, the most effective foreign language class is a class that incorporates all of these techniques. A class that uses constant interaction connects what is learned in the classroom to student’s life, and uses humor are found to be the most successful approach in teaching a foreign language.

Interview from research.




Interview final by garciamz